The third trip, and first without a return, saw us visiting the Lake George Riverview resort in Warrensburg NY. Situated on the Schroon River, Lake George Riverview provides a family camping experience for visitors to the southern Adirondack Park. Like the last review, we'll rate the site on five criteria and give our overall impressions.
Grounds: The location of the campground is very conveniently located off the interstate highway. However, its only entrance is along the only thoroughfare connecting the highway and the hamlet of Warrensburg, a popular tourist destination in the summer months. A left turn along this stretch to get to the highway can be daunting, especially with a long RV. Not much can be done to improve the situation, but traffic is light enough that a turn can be made.
Sites: The campground has around 150 sites for either RV or tents. Most require a back-in, but a number of pull-through are available. Our site wasn't exactly the most level, but nothing that a few blocks couldn't fix. Unpaved loose stone seems to be the method of choice for the RV sites, a bit unfairly judged against the last time, but you live and learn. The map was easy to understand, although the pull-through sites were only marked on one side. At least one fully grown tree was at the site providing adequate shade while still allowing for the awning. Hookups were easy, although the water at their side had a tendency to "spit".
Staff: Check-in and check-out staff was friendly. Maintenance and security was attentive, as we unfortunately had to witness on account of some badly-behaved neighbors. All of the staff is on salary; there are no "workamping" opportunities, but with everything running smoothly, they don't seem to need any additional hands.
Amenities: For the price that was paid, you would expect some decent amenities, and the park gives some. These include a pool, a beach, an arcade and playground for the children, horseshoes, and a bocce setup. Even simple walks around the property are a joy. Construction was happening during our stay so some amenities changed from what was listed, such as volleyball and a pool bathhouse. A single sheet addendum or sign at the main house would have helped guests understand what was happening. One of the men's shower stalls had a lock that wasn't lined up to the hole, making it impossible to lock. One of the women's houses could have used more regular cleaning, and one of the women's shower stalls had a floor that seemed ready to break.
Atmosphere: If you want something that is family friendly, this is a good place to go. Children, whom we once again had in tow for this special trip, have ample opportunities to make friends and remain entertained. Although many guests will spend the day exploring attractions the surrounding area offers, even those preferring to stay in one place won't be disappointed. The park is also very dog-friendly, many animals of which receive great love and praise from most other guests.
Overall, Lake George Riverview receives a rating of 8 out of a possible 10. The price was the biggest stickler for point deduction, as this is less geared towards the young full-time RVer, and more towards the city dweller. Sure, the amenities were nice, but it doesn't make up for the lack of value for money, especially when premium pricing was not involved. With better rates, it is worth returning, but until such time, other locations may be better.
Our first trip found us staying at the Hidden Haven RV Park in Pine Level NC, situated on US Route 70 just outside Smithfield. Since we're new RVers, why not stay at a brand new campground? Reviewing Hidden Haven at this point is a bit difficult; not necessarily because of our level of RV experience, but because the park is so new (and being constructed while we stay) that we have to factor in potential for what this place could be. However, we'll give it a go.
First, the grounds itself. The park is presently accessible on one side of a divided highway requiring a U-turn when arriving from the interstate, or through a co-owned trailer park with several relatively high speed bumps that would do a number to a rig's suspension or underside amenities. Potential points are given as the beginnings of road clearing can be seen from the business route exit off the highway. In addition, the "main roads" within the grounds are not clearly marked to help someone around without potentially pulling through an unoccupied site, or what could be interpreted as a "main road" but is blocked by equipment. The new entrance would potentially change this layout, so we recommend keeping it in mind for then. A greenbelt surrounds the grounds, which greatly helps quell noise coming from both the highway and the trailer park.
Second, the sites. Numerous pull-through and an assortment of back-in sites are available (160 in total when this was written; no tent sites), with numbering on one side of the control box and a system that could prove confusing to a driver who didn't receive a map at the entrance without signs at "street" entrances. The sites are level yet unpaved with loose stone similar to the "streets" and "roads" in the park, and a level mixture of grass and sand for other things. Pull-through sites have limited shade, especially with the connections being on what looks to be the north side of the rig in the presently developed area, but there are potential points given for a tree being planted at many of the sites, and plenty of room remaining to place a trailer's awning. Electric and sewer hook-up was easy, with the water faucets having a very short spigot that proved difficult for some standard hoses and connectors to be attached.
Third, the staff. Anyone who has heard of, yet rarely experienced, "southern charm" will find it at Hidden Haven. The staff was friendly, courteous, and accommodating, with visible smiles on their faces that one would expect when visiting any sort of establishment. This is not only limited to the family of owners; it extends to the cleaning staff and maintenance crew. The one recommendation I would make is to try to have a night/weekend/holiday host on the grounds, whether permanent staff or a work-camping couple receiving a site, to help with check in/out, quick fixes such as toilet paper running out or internet going completely down for a couple days, and peace keeping if necessary.
Fourth, the amenities. Because it's a new park, these are very limited when we stayed. With 160 sites, there is one code-locked bath house with three toilet and three shower stalls, one of each ADA accessible, for each sex. The house could use some motion detectors by the showers, as the automatic lights could go off on you during a long shower, and it's difficult to figure out how to get back to the other side to turn them back on. There is also one pavilion with a patio fire table and a couple of patio chairs. A farm exists in the back. No fire pits were seen. The owner had mentioned a fishing pond, dog park, and pool would be constructed to add to the potential for amenities. Wireless repeaters exist at about every utility pole to help with internet service, although it is fully open and unencrypted, with peak usages as one would expect campground internet to be.
Finally, the atmosphere. Hidden Haven is, for the most part, a quiet, safe, and well lit park. They are also friendly towards all dogs that stay with their human owners. Occasionally a boisterous family will stay, but everyone is very respectful of the surroundings. A municipal deputy was seen patrolling the grounds on one night, speaking to the commitment of the local constabulary. Not very many sites were occupied, which was surprising for a holiday weekend, but potentially owing to the fact that the park is very new and still under construction, as we only heard about the park from some locals. We were very happy to be able to check-in at an early time, given the proximity from our "night dock" point to the grounds, and the owners were willing to allow us to choose a more suitable site given the present state of the grounds. There are the obvious marks for construction happening while we're here, but given the cost of building anything like this, it's completely understandable to want to generate income, and we're happy to help them out.
Overall, we would give Hidden Haven RV Park about a 6 rating out of a possible 10 at the time the article is written. However, this place has every potential to receive a 9 or even a 10 rating once everything has been completed. We would definitely look forward to returning to see how the park has improved, should our travels bring us back to this location. We would also recommend this park to anyone who is looking to bring the RV to this part of North Carolina. All you have to do is follow your internal compass.
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